Vyvani

I am left in confusion by what I see before me. The room is dark excepting a thin strip of blue light that runs the length of the room. Twenty server towers are lined against both walls. A holoViewer is screwed onto each tower so that whoever walks the middle may view their contents as they wish. After closing the door behind me, that is exactly what I do.

At first, I believe that what I see is nothing spectacular—they are mere scenes from the city, as if cameramen are strolling the streets and filming whatever they are passing by. I feel a good bit of nostalgia for the true city outside the virtual realm. For the next several days, I stop by this room at least once a day, partially due to the fact that I am happy for finally having another activity outside my normal routine. I would also be lying if I said that I wasn’t at all curious. Because as bland as the things I was watching seemed to be on the surface, they remind me of the outside world, and it is as if I am living vicariously through them. Sabina never speaks a word to me concerning my little excursions, so I assume that she does not know of the database city.

I soon have a pattern established: wake up, wander the city, session with Sabina, then trip to the speakeasy.

As the days trickle by, I notice that the people who are appearing in the holoViewers are no ordinary citizens. They seem rougher, crueler somehow, as if violence ripples beneath a calm surface, ready to rear its head the moment it is provoked. And then I spot the bioEnhancements on their bodies and faces.

Joryoku.

The revelation does not do much to rid me of my confusion concerning the database city’s existence. I can’t seem to think of a single reason why such a secret room would be populated with holoViewers playing scenes from a Joryoku’s perspective. Regardless, I’ve got nothing better to do, so I find myself returning without fail, following my sessions with Sabina.

But all of that changed one night.

I am sitting before a holoViewer near the end of the room. I am munching on a box of cookies I requested from Sabina—I have come to look forward to my virtual food items. I suppose it is one of the perks of being a brain in a box—I can experience all the satisfaction junk food gives, without any of the repercussions to health. Flavor profile chemicals, I have decided, are one of the greatest inventions of humankind.

The particular cameraman I have chosen to view for the night is standing inside of a large office. They are speaking to a man with long brown hair that has been tied into a ponytail. The man appears concerned, and is manner is very meek and obedient. After a while, he is escorted out by two Joryoku. The cameraman remains in the office, and he stares at a wall filled with large paintings and engravings. He then suddenly turns as if he has been distracted or caught off guard by something. What I see then makes me choke on my cookie.

It’s Kazin. It’s damn Kazin Moyashino standing inside the holoViewer.

There are two others in his company—a woman with black hair and purple strands, and another tall man with long, black hair. They have all been bioEnhanced to preposterous degrees—including Kazin himself. He is wearing a long sleeve shirt and pants, but I can see the bioEnhancements on the top of his fists, paneled through his hands.

Why is Kazin Moyashino bioEnhanced?

My mouth gapes, and I'm aghast, to say the least. My thoughts are spinning and jumbled as I try to make sense of what I see. The cameraman’s point-of-view suddenly rushes at the glass windows, but his path is impeded by Kazin's tall companion. The cameraman falls, jumps to his feet, and the tall Joryoku speaks. I suddenly think to search for a volume switch—and sure enough, I find one on the side of the holoViewer. I turn it on.

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In a blindingly quick movement, the tall man kicks at the cameraman’s head, but the cameraman is even faster. There is a blur of movement involving everyone excepting Kazin, and suddenly the fight is over. I am speechless at how swiftly these people are moving. I had seen it once, with Model-esque back at Jerim’s mansion in Meradon Hills, but seeing their bioEnhancements at work in combat is truly something breathtaking.

While all of this is happening, I can’t take my eyes off Kazin whenever he appears in the holoViewer. A part of me is elated to see him. To see him alive when I thought he was missing, when I thought him likely dead, is such a huge weight off my chest. He might hate me—in fact, he probably does, because I was one of Sangsum’s associates during school—but right now, I’m feeling as if I’ve met a friend long lost.

What are these holoViewers? Are they displaying fake scenes? They can’t be shots from the past, because Kazin never had bioEnhancements. What exactly is the nature of these holoViewers, these server towers, and the database city? Is everything I'm seeing happening right now, in the present?

It now appears the cameraman is being dragged into a basement prison. I rush through all the other holoViewers with a newfound sense of immediacy. I want to know what it is I am seeing.

I notice that many of the cameramen for a number of the holoViewers seem to be headed to the same place. I run through the room, switching on the volume controls for every single holoViewer. I watch and listen for anything that might help me in understanding what is going on, for a hint, a clue, anything.

Soon, it appears that many of the subjects in the holoViewers have gathered into a huge warehouse. The inside is cavernous, meant to house containers and heavy equipment. Every single one of the people herded into the chamber is a Joryoku member. They are speaking in hushed tones, and I can sense the reek of excitement and a sense of disquiet permeating the air.

Many of them are brandishing weapons—photonBlasters, cracklers, flameSwords—the sacred trinity of weapons with the Joryoku stamp of approval.

At the front of the room, near the doors, a tall figure hops onto the cab of a yellow and orange hoverCrawl, and the entire warehouse falls into a deathly silence. I curse under my breath, because I recognize him too. It’s Model-esque, from Meradon Hills, the night I was almost abducted by Joryoku.

“Where’s Augment-eye?” I wonder aloud to myself.

Within the holoViewer, Model-esque begins speaking to the Joryoku. “So, ladies and gentlemen, it would appear that our dear friend Baku has been taken by the Yamda in what appears to have been an impromptu meeting.”

There’s a stir in the crowd. I see waves of restless movement scattered throughout, and much shuffling of feet. Hushed whispering sprouts here and there. I strain to hear Model-esque.

He continues with his speech. “It seems that the Yamda were meaning to hit us in a coordinated ambush—fortunately, the meeting with Baku has derailed those plans, and a battle at the club has dented their numbers.” He unclasps the hilt of a flameSword from his belt. Suddenly, blue beamFire whorls angrily from the end of it. “They are now searching for Riko. I have no doubt Baku will tell them where he has been taken. So, change of plans, Kargu! We will no longer hit their businesses in Tobashinta District as we at first intended. No, we will opt for a cleaner method—to gather their numbers in one place and exterminate them all. We will strike when they least expect it. Yamda will tremble at the might of the Kargu, my friends! They will know why the Kargu rule Zanaku City. They will know why the Tri-City clans bow to our power. And they will realize that resistance is futile! Gather our members from the other districts! Tonight, we send the Yamda of Tobashinta to a bloody grave!”

The Joryoku members roar in approval. I walk through the length of the room, inspecting each of the holoViewers. That is when I realize a curious thing. One of the holoViewers, right across the one that Kazin had appeared in earlier, seems to be from Model-esque’s point of view. I can see that it is in the same warehouse. From its elevated viewpoint, the Joryoku mob below is waving their weapons as a torrent of bloodlust engulfs them.

I sift through the information I have just gathered. Kazin Moyashino of Minzyu Secondary School is still alive, and he has apparently turned Joryoku. His friends were also Joryoku—from a clan called the Yamda. For some reason, I can view events from the point-of-view of Kargu clanmembers, the syndicate that Shora and I were investigating. Model-esque has his own holoViewer. Maybe Augment-eye is Baku. The Kargu are gearing up for a battle with the Yamda. And the Yamda don’t know it.

From what I’m gathering, it would appear that Kazin and his friends are walking into a trap.